Shinobi are human
by masterdude21
Summary: In a small Shinobi village, young Naruto get's the chance to improve his life and unravel the biggest mystery that it offers; his own existence. Tensions rise when the underground decisions of Konoha have to be made by the Hokage himself and the dark nature of life begins to rear its head. Features NaruHina and many other pairings.
1. The first chance

_A fiction I had wanted to do._

_English is my second language (may be a tad obvious) so please send me some feedback on my grammar _

_That being said, I do not like flamers. Seeing as there is pretty much nothing I can do to stop them, I think I will promise them that I will find them and I will steal their cookies at night. And give them to positive reviewers. Then I will use the flames to stoke my oven and bake more cookies. _

A shadow glided through the dark forest and quickly melted in the background. From there it moved along, tree for tree and spot for spot. If one looked more closely, they would find the shadow being a little bit darker than the rest of the many shadows in the forest. Suddenly, a man with a large scar across his face jumped out of a tree and hit the ground with a thud.

"Recon unit seven, checking in. No sign of the forces mentioned in the previous rapport sir."

And with that the man clicked the device in his hands once and stopped talking. It was obvious that he wasn't disciplined, slacking on the job right after reporting in. A soft whisper in the dark echoed through the forest for a second- followed a muscled arm wrenching itself around the man's throat. With an audible 'pop' his neck snapped and his limp body fell to the ground. His silent assailant appeared from behind him and dragged it away, so no one could see where the man had fallen.  
…

"This is Shiruba team, standing by." The silver-haired Shinobi whispered in his earpiece. The little piece of technology worked marvelous and allowed their team to communicate along great distances without having to use special Ninjutsu. Which was a good thing, considering their target.

"Roger that Shiruba team, this is Youth team, ready for action!" The ever alert voice of Maito Gai spoke in his ear.

"Can it for now Gai-" a third voice spoke over the earpiece- "-radio silence until we make visual contact with the target."

"Roger that, Shiruba team out." The Shinobi jumped out of his tree and hit the ground. Immediately after that he rolled to his feet and crossed the open gap of nearly 300 feet within fifteen seconds. He approached the seemingly innocent black shiny stone in between two trees and crouched down in front of it.

"This cannot be serious…" He said and sighed. The Shinobi stood and looked around him, eyeing up his environment and taking in whatever his team might be able to use when they arrived. He then spotted a large branch lying about next to the "rock" and picked it up. Without giving it a second thought he hit the rock- which then screamed in pain and jumped up. Appearing out of the ground came the unmistakable green body of Konoha's beautiful green beast.

"Was that your bowl cut, sticking out of the ground?" The Shinobi yelled at the newcomer.

"If it isn't my number one rival, Hatake Kakashi!" The man- wearing was could only be a green spandex suit- said to his fellow Ninja. "I am eager to test my newfound Youth team against your Shiruba team!

"Gai…" Kakashi began, "...first of all: you are the only one on Youth team. Second of all: my team will be here any second now and you know that. Missions first, sparring later. Okay?"

The green beast looked at his friend with increasingly wet eyes.

"Eeehm... "Kakashi began. "I promise…?"

"Challenge accepted!" Gai yelled and smiled a set of perfect white teeth.

But just as he took a Janken stance, the rest of Kakashi's Shiruba team showed up and reported.

"Target base located, five hundred meters to our south."

"Good job. Everyone? Move out!" Kakashi decided and signaled his team to move. Shiruba and Youth teams charged through the trees, across open fields and over a river without a single animal noticing them. In one minute of stealthy movements, quick hand signs and strategic movements, the team distributed their plan of infiltration and confiscation. Two members of Shiruba team would stay outside as overwatch while three other members, Kakashi and Gai infiltrated the base. The plan was simple. This place was a refuge to an important missing Nin and they were sent to catch him, dead or alive. There were possible prisoners and hostages, so they had to be very stealthy.

Luckily for them, they were Shinobi. So after multiple twisting corridors, empty rooms covered with blood and other pieces Kakashi did not want to recognize, they hit the last room in the base.

"Did they seriously place a heavy door of at least two inches pure iron in our way…?" Gai slowly said and grabbed his bowl cut. "The sweet irony is this!" He yelled and banged his fist against the door. With a loud CLANG the door flew out of its hinges and landed two meters further on the ground.

"Ow…right… that is quite the dynamic entry, isn't it!" He laughed, but quickly stopped laughing when he noticed the looks on his teammates.

"So much for stealth…" Kakashi muttered. He nodded to the other Shinobi and with a swift roll he moved into the room. The first things he noticed were the dozens and dozens of jars filled with weird and simply gross objects. Limbs, organs, blood and other fluids were a few that he could quickly identify. The many other things… not so much. The worst part of it all were the many people chained to the wall- naked from the waist up and looking neglected. Some looked worse off than the others, with some body parts missing or so skinny that their bones were sticking out of their skin. Some possessed the kilometer long stare akin to pure shock, while others were dimly staring ahead of themselves.

"What the hell…" Kakashi muttered.

There had to be at least two dozen of them, a few of them not much older than 5 years old.

"Kakashi to Shiruba team… the hidden Nin is gone. Repeat the hidden Nin is gone. We got civilians – "Gai pulled at his sleeve.

"What is it Gai?" The Ninja replied, irritation barely contained in his voice when he had to cut off his conversation on his microphone.

"Look at their arms… and legs…" Maito Gai said with a grave undertone. When Kakashi took a closer look he realized that most- if not all of them- were victims of brutal experimentations. It was highly probable that the cause of death among them was found.

"We are getting them out of here!" One of the Shinobi said and stepped forward. With a lightning-quick motion the youth-incarnated Shinobi next to him grabbed his arm and pulled him back. Black needles shot out of the wall and slashed through the air a centimeter from the eager ninja's face. One of them ricocheted off of the wall and hit one of the prisoners in the arm. After a second or two the man gave a pained cry and his head slung, white foam bubbling from the corners of his mouth.

"Poisoned darts…" Kakashi muttered and sighed. "We will have to do this old school."

It took them a long while to find and disarm all of the traps, but luckily none of the civilians died.

Remarkably, the children rescued that day would later turn out to have been snatched from strong and well known Clans- with one case of a Hyuuga child. There was another problem; the entire operation was classified as 'Hokage only'. Meaning that even if the children survive one day, they would be a security breach. Not the way the current Hokage- Sarutobi Hiruzen- wanted to do things. Especially not when he overheard his advisors talking about the way ANBU takes care of these so called breaches. So he gathered the two team leaders of the operation and decided to ask for their personal opinion.

"With respect sir," Hatake Kakashi spoke in a soft tone, these people are our own. They have been through enough without their own leaders trying to silence them in the night."

"I take your point Kakashi…" The Hokage said and took a puff from his pipe. "And what is your opinion, Gai?"

"The bowl-cut-haired man turned his head at his rival and sighed.

"As much as I would like to agree to Kakashi…we simply cannot let people know about what happened. So much bloodshed and gore, all because of one Shinobi going rogue. A Shinobi of our own. I cannot begin to imagine what would happen if the Villagers found out about this."

"Indeed Gai," Hiruzen muttered. Maito Gai scratched his perfectly round head and grimaced, not completely grasping what his Hokage wanted to say next.

"But the situation is all too clear right now… I cannot allow this village to become endangered because of this." The Hokage looked up at the two Shinobi in front him. Both were excellent fighters and loyal to the core. But these matters were too sensitive to be handled by, with or near them. When he thought if the implications of what Gai said, his duty was all too clear.

Damn.

"I am sorry Kakashi, Gai, but you two are dismissed. This will be handled without you."

After that, the two men in front of him were silent. He wasn't sure whether they were communicating with each other using subtle muscle twitches or- In Gai's case- reaching consensus with his inner Youth.

"So, what do you want to do with them?" Kakashi finally asked.

"That will be enough you two!" A voice from behind spoke with a soft but grave undertone. Kakashi softly swore when he heard the man standing two feet behind them; he had sensed him coming but didn't believe that Hiruzen wanted to deal with that person.

"You are dismissed Kakashi… Gai…I know that you do not want to disobey your Hokage?" The man said, his voice still grave but now filled with an amble amount of contempt.

The Hokage crossed his arms, his eyes closed and a vein bulging near his temple. Clearly his temper was being tested to danger zones by simply being near the man in the doorway. But deep inside he knew that that man was right.

"You may leave, Shinobi."

Konoha's beautiful green beast and Copycat Kakashi left the room, wondering why their Hokage would arrange a meeting with his most direct rival; Danzō Shimura.

"Come on Kakashi…" Gai muttered and grabbed his shoulder. "Our part in this is over now, we may already know too much."

"I am surprised Gai…" The silver-haired Shinobi said. "You act like you actually understand what is going on."

"You misunderstand my understanding of the situation! I merely acted like that-" He pulled his legwarmers a bit tighter- "so that we may rise and understand!"

Kakashi- being completely flabbergasted by his companions' sudden philosophical touches- stopped walking and stared at him.

"I think I have found a newfound respect for you my friend," he said after swallowing a bit of his pride. "To think that you would accept those orders and then respond in such a manner is-"

"What are you babbling about Kakashi?" Gai interrupted him, "join me as we eavesdrop on those two!"

_I knew it,_ Kakashi thought with a hidden smile. Even though the Green Beast was speaking of eavesdropping on their leader, he was still relieved that the man wasn't becoming a philosophical… person.

"You know we cannot do that Gai. I say we simply leave the Hokage to do what will be best for all of us. He has done those things before and shall not fail in it."

As the two men continued on walking, a small figure appeared from an ally and warily looked around him. For the little kid that was walking around like he was behind enemy lines- his eyes big and filled with suspicion- was definitely a male. His blonde hair shook as the wind started whipping up and clouds formed above the hidden village of Konoha.

"Hey you!" Someone yelled. "What the hell do you think you are doing here you brat?"

The boy whipped around just as a hand came crashing down his view and grabbed him by the front of his jacket.

"I got you now demons servant!" His assailant yelled. Do you think you can just come crashing into my house and clad my walls with animal blood? To think the Hokage let you inside the village! I should tear your head off right now!"

"Please!" The boy grunted. "It wasn't me I swear!" He grabbed the man's hand and pulled away at it, to no avail.

"Struggle all you want you monster!" Another person yelled. Nobody will come to help something like you!"

Another burst of wind whipped through the trees and pelted the gates of the village.

Due to the sudden gales the boy´s hood dropped backwards and revealed his face to the nearby villagers.

"Uzumaki Naruto, the demon of the Village of Konoha!" The man yelled and drew a knife from his pocket.

"Let me go you bastard!" The boy yelled and struggled against his captor, to no avail. He was helpless to see his assailant raise his weapon- only to be suspended in the air by an even more threatening hand.

_Even bigger hand!_ Naruto thought with awe. The person that had just stepped into the scene was at least two feet larger than the man before him. He had a very dark skin and a perfectly balanced mustache. His entire body bristled with muscles and he had no trouble holding Naruto's assailant in a vice grip.

"W-w-who are you?" Naruto muttered softly. Neither man nor powerful man heard him speaking and they continued staring at each other; one with uncontrolled fear and the other with cold and calculating…coldness. The hand around Naruto's clothes loosened and let him go. He fell to his knees and started coughing.

"Beat it fool!" The very big man said with a loud commanding voice. Not only the person attacking Naruto ran away; the entire crowd of gathered people broke formation and ran.

"Are you alright?" The blonde heard someone ask him. He didn't know whether his rescuer was still talking to him or merely stating a fact, so he slowly gazed upwards to his face.

"I asked for a report son!"

Naruto yelped with surprise and quickly stood.

"I-I'm fine sir!" He said, his voice louder than he wished it to be. "W-why did you help me?"

The big man looked at him with an expression that made him think that he was going to kick Naruto's ass.

"I don't like it when big men bully little people. Especially not when those who do the bullying… have nothing to base their behavior on."

Naruto didn't understand what the man meant by behavior, or anything about basing, but he knew that he didn't want to be attacked again. So he did the last thing the big guy expected; he stepped closer to him and looked up.

"Can you bring me home mister?" He asked softly. The few people that were still around looked at them and started whispering to each other.

"How old are you kid?" The man asked him. He eyed his environment for a second and then looked back at the small child in front of him.

"Uhm…five?" Naruto replied, unsure whether that was what his helper wanted to hear or not.

"Only five years old and then so challenged by your fellow men? What is wrong with you?" The dark-skinned man replied with an angry tone, clearly not pleased this time. Naruto looked down at the ground, thinking that his newfound ally was appalled by him.

"You should not be the underdog! You should underdog THEM!" The man yelled at him, raising his voice. "And don't give me that little whiny excuse of 'Mister I am too small and tiny to train'!"

"What?" The boy muttered and looked up again. "What do you mean training?"

The big man smiled his powerful teeth at him again and crossed his arms. "I am going to teach you all about blood. Force. TRAUMA!" He yelled those last words and looked Naruto in his eyes with a look that told the kid that this guy wasn't kidding. He really was going to teach him all about… things, he guessed.

Follow me kid, the man said and reached with his right hand for his pocket. He then pulled out the biggest and no doubt manliest cigar Naruto had ever seen and put it in his mouth.

"I'm good. You smoke kid?"

"Eeehm… I don't think so…"

His new teacher huffed. "Guess we have to find you something else…" And with that he took off, leaving the tiny person behind him to speed up his pace.

"What exactly will you be teaching me sir…?"

"Hah! You can call me Sensei. Even better, you will make me enjoy the honorific!

"Honorific, Sensei?" Naruto replied while struggling to keep up with the man's pace. They were walking through a busy street filled with shops and customers and he was trying not to show his existence to the people around him.

"You will refer to me as: "Sir! Yes Sir!" Am I clear young man?"

"Yes Sensei."

The man stopped walking and Naruto nearly bumped into him.

"I said: AM I CLEAR?" Naruto jumped in surprise- as did nearly two dozen other people around him. "Very clear, Sir Sensei sir!"

His newfound Sensei grinned and pulled the cigar out of his mouth, blowing smoke as he went.

"You know… I never really thought you were the type to just walk around, letting people insult you and shit," he continued, "but I can now understand why you do as you do."

"You do?" Naruto asked and looked up at his Sensei's face, only to see that his dark, moustache-covered face was hovering a mere two inches from his. His eyes were wide opened wide and filled with a burning anger, his contours drawn in a clear frown.

"Eeehm… you do sir?" Naruto quickly corrected himself. The dark face immediately returned to its original position; towering above the kid.

"I see you learn fast. Who was your previous Sensei?" He quickly batted his question aside with his own. Naruto's smile slowly subsided and faded. He thought back of his time in the village, having lost both his parent when he was young and being cared for by the entire village. In theory, at least. In reality he got food-packets delivered to his door at regular basis and that was about it for the taking care part. For the past six years-ever since the death of his parent- he had been forced to take care of his own. And he was really reluctant to tell that to this stranger, even though he had agreed to train him. And saved him from beating badly beaten. And was actually being more of a care-taker to him than the entire village ever was. So why didn't he trust him?

"I have never had a Sensei, I am afraid. Children my age don't join the academy until they are at least seven or eight years old."

"Damnit kid, we are losing valuable time!" The man yelled and stuffed his cigar back in. "So I guess we will have to take this training to the next level to unlock badass and-"

"Hey, he is over there!" Someone yelled not far away from Naruto, ruining his caretakers little speech. `What are you doing here man?"

The blonde looked up at his Sensei's face for what felt like the hundredth time today and was surprised to see that his face was now completely devoid of emotion. Except for a bit of anger. But that could have just as easily been his natural face.

"What are _you_ doing here, Suzuki?" He countered.

"Oh you know damn well what I am doing here, Mobuto!" The other spat his name like it was a poison to him. "I am here to keep tabs on the little… monstrosity here."

Naruto's shoulders immediately sagged when he heard that. Even the professional Shinobi of the village- the men and women that risked their lives to protect the civilians- hated him. He turned around to run away, but a strong hand grabbed his shoulder and prevented him from moving.

"Well…" Mobuto started, but the other one interrupted him.

"You were not ordered to look after it- and I know how important are for you."

"Actually…"

"So, technically being your superior, I order you to leave the brat alone and find something worthwhile to do!" He poked Naruto's caretaker at the chest with his index finger- which was immediately grabbed and held in a powerful stranglehold. Naruto wasn't even sure how Mobuto did it- holding a man's finger in a stranglehold- but he somehow did it and damn, it was effective.

"Now you listen to me… and you listen well," The dark-skinned man spoke. His voice was grave and hard and Naruto instantly knew that whatever he would do during his training- he would never EVER disobey this man. Or insult him. Or speak back to him. "Now that you mention orders, I received a letter some time ago."

With his free hand he pulled his cigar away and blew some smoke in the air.

"Our beloved Hokage has some unflattering matters that need to be resolved. Resolved in a way that results can be achieved. A way, I might add, that you are unable to grant him. So- in his infinite wisdom- he has appointed me to be his head coordinator of the program."

"Program?"

"Was I done talking?!" Mobuto immediately snapped. The man in front of him visibly flinched and gave the Shinobi time to finish his story. "Therefore, I was to be promoted to Chief petty Jōnin."

"What?"

"Meaning; I officially outrank you. Now. Get. Out."

Suzuki didn't need to be ordered by a superior twice. He grudgingly saluted and turned around, before disappearing in a whirlwind of leaves.

"You won't be having trouble from that again kid!" Naruto's caretaker spoke.

"Was that true? About you being promoted…sir?"

Mobuto smiled his scary grin and started walking again. "Of course it was, now come on. We have lots and lots of training to do- and I will get to meet the Hokage."

"The Hokage?" Naruto warily responded. _Last time I met that old guy, he gave me an apartment. And a small amount of money to do groceries, but that's it. He promised to take care of me and then he left me all by myself!_

"Yes kid, the Hokage. Now shut up and move it!" He gave him a shove against his shoulders- and almost sent Naruto flying.

The two of them started walking in a murderous pace, going on for what seemed like hours and hours. They walked from the southern districts all the way to the northern section of the village.

Konoha was first founded after most of the countries of the West were done with their all consuming wars. There was no warning, no signs and no mercy when everyone took the blade to their fellow men. The real reason to why everybody started murdering each other was lost in time. The basics were founded on tales that were passed down from generation to generation, grandfather to grandson and further down the ages. In the end, everybody agreed that their beloved village was created from the rubble, amongst the rubble, by the very few survivors. However, who founded the village and why that person did it was still a mystery.

Naruto knew that but didn't understand the rest of the 'facts'. The only thing he understood was that he was an outcast, locked inside a society that hated him. The reason was like the history of his life, the village's existence and the people that guarded it; a mystery. He hoped that- whatever the Hokage was going to tell him- he would get some answers. Because right now, he was crawling around in the darkness and for the first time in his life he wanted out. Out, because he wanted to train and unravel his own existence. Out because he wanted to prove to the Hokage that he was worth the trouble that seemed to be following him everywhere he went.

Out, because he wanted Mobuto to see that he could become strong.

-_Codex entry personification index-_

_-The hidden village of Konoha-_

_Entry: foundation._

_The hidden village of Konoha planted its roots in the ground after the Great Western Wars. It was constructed from the rubble that spread far and wide in the wake of the wars, being based on the soil of death and destruction._

_Spawning safety and life. The people that founded Konohagakure possessed considerable skills and managed to protect their small haven. Their people flourished and the population grew. With them so did the village. Eventually the founders realized they could no longer protect their village on their own and spread their skills amongst their followers, creating the first Schooled Foundation of Ninjutsu._

_-Codex Entry end-_


	2. Ethically questionable

**Hello! I want to say thank you to the people that faved/followed/reviewed the story.**

**Oh yes, should have said this one chapter ago. I do not own Naruto, or any of the characters that are canon-established. I do, however, own any and all OC's that might or might not appear. At all. Sort of.**

Sometimes simplicity is important.

People's opinions over what is necessary and what is not always wildly differ, simply because the necessity would be complex. What is more important than the other, who gets to decide and why? Simple decisions could get dragged on and on until the choice itself simply didn't matter anymore- because the need for 'simple' or 'complex' is too hard to really get between. But when you live in a village whose only chance at survival is to have more warriors than their neighbours, you don't get to be picky. Complexity can be a blessing, sure. But it can also ruin you. Hiruzen Sarutobi realised this long ago.

In a dimmed room not far from the Hokage's office, what had started as a simple fight was escalating quickly. Loud sounds and angry voices began to swarm outside, quickly giving a headache to the few Shinobi that had the rank and privileges to guard that particular section of the village's headquarters. They tried to ignore the sounds of stubborn old humans yelling at each other, but to no avail.

"Listen to me you fool!" One of them inside there yelled. "I don't care whether there is need for them or not, you cannot do this!"

And of course, no one in there could simply take someone's opinion for granted. Oh no, they just had to give a retort.

"Do not tell me what I can or cannot do! If I say this has to be done, it will be done!"

Sarutobi Asuma sighed and mentally face palmed. The fact that these old people were currently in charge of his beloved Konoha was something that he could never accept. Age could be a positive thing, of course, but these fools were too stubborn to get over their petty differences. Of the entire Council of the Leaves there were only a handful of people that could actually make a positive difference to the village. If it was up to him, these people would stay in that little black room until the end of time itself. That was how long it would take to get them to do anything. If only his father could arrive a little bit sooner.

Because of the incompetence of the Council was the most left corner of the county then the Hokage would be utmost right corner. The only man linked to the council that could actually get things done- that would be his gramps: Sarutobi Hiruzen.

Soft footsteps shook Asuma out of his musings and he straightened his back. Looking at his fellow guard he moved his hand to knock on the door; the lot inside had to know that they had a visitor. But at only a few inches distance from the door his hand froze. They didn't really need to know anything, come to think of it. They could obviously sense the newcomer- since they all claimed to be Shinobi.

Yes, Asuma would just stand at the door and be a good guard. Until the Hokage entered the door; then he would laugh his ass off.

"Good day sir!" He said with as straight a voice as possible.

"Hokage, sir!" The other man spoke as their visitor stopped in front of them.

"As your were, gentlemen." He spoke. This little ritual had been going on for about nine days now. It was time that he and the Council would get things done. Or, as his son liked to say, 'get their shit together'.

He silently opened the door between the two guards and entered. A gush of air hit him as the violent noises of the Council enclosed him. The noise was unbelievable, the amount of discussions and the sheer volume of the voices were enough to drive a man insane. Why these people were even needed was a fact that he hated. Old, respected people from ancient clans. Visitors to Konoha, or civilians of significant status. All of them necessary and all of them incompetent.

"Enough!' He said after a while. A collection of shocked faces and irritation around him caused him to chuckle. He was the Hokage all right; they would respect his wishes should he want complete silence.

"You were arguing so loudly that you failed to notice me, correct?

The response to that statement took some time to be made. It was the hard truth and he knew it; but he humoured the people of the Council. Few of them had actually been true Shinobi.

"H-Hokage sir!" One of them stuttered and the noise died down completely. One of them had spoken and it was up to him to fix their situation. "We were not warned of your arrival. The guards-"

"-were perfectly in time with their announcement." Sarutobi finished the man's sentence. He did not need excuses- even though he was actually right. "You were all just so busy having a fit that you didn't even hear them! Tell me, what conclusion did you reach on our little…problem?"

Like they would have reached anything else but sore throats.

"We…"The councillor swallowed a lump in his throat and softly continued. "We were unable to reach…a…proper… plan."

Sigh.

-(-)-

The sound of footsteps echoed between the two walls as an unknown figure quickly advanced towards the small room. Asuma knew that no one could infiltrate this building, but assassination attempts weren't completely routed from Konoha and the Hokage would always be the perfect target.

"Now wait a minute!" His companion spoke and extended his hand. "We need to see some credentials, sir. Are you allowed inside this room?"

With one hand the stranger slapped a piece of paper in his hand and with the other he pushed the door open. Asuma didn't bother to stop him; the small figure behind that man was enough credential to him.

-(-)-

The Hokage allowed a smile to play over his face before he advanced. With each step he took it seemed that the other people took one backwards. When he reached the middle of the room, he let out a loud sigh.

"I see. Perhaps I was wrong to allow your lot to make this decision."

Silence.

"Perhaps I should take some replacements for the Council of the Leaves."

More silence.

"In the end, I think that…" The council never learnt what the Hokage thought, because at that moment the door flung open with a loud bang.

A figure entered the room, quickly followed by the two guards that stood posted outside.

One of the elderly women inside took note of the large, dark-skinned man intruding and immediately opened her mouth.

"How dare you enter this place? Do you not know who we are, you brat!" It was an unnecessary and ugly statement; like they were anything more special than the Shinobi that risked their lives to protect them.

But as if it was that was his cue, a little figure stepped out from behind the 'intruder' and pointed a finger at her.

"How dare you talk to Mobuto-sir like that you old hag! You should apologise right now!" It yelled with his little voice.

The sheer absurdness of the stranger barging into the room together with that little kid and the resulting amount of insults that hit her became too much for the woman to bear. She took a few deep breaths and her face flushed a dark tint of red.

"How… how dare you!" She yelled at him, unaware of the fact that she was repeating him. "You barge in here, all tall and dark and take that… that… that thing inside! I will have you executed for this!"

Mobuto merely walked past her- "out of my way, _hag_- " and walked up to the Hokage. "Sir, I bring you priority package Alpha. Standing by for further orders."

"Well done Mobuto!" Hiruzen spoke and looked down at his blonde visitor. "And hello there, young Naruto! Long time no see!"

The blonde looked at the Hokage and tried to think of something to say. Anything to say. There were no words. The last time he and the old man had met face to face was when he had received his basic needs- a home and food. That and a basic income to pay for his own needs. That was… how long ago? It didn't really matter though,

"You are probably wondering why I had you brought here!" The old man began, but before he could continue he was interrupted.

"Hokage sir! This is nonsense! Why in heavens name would you let that… that _thing_ be brought here! Now, of all times!"

"You will remember your place, councillor." Hiruzen returned. There was no anger in his voice nor did he need to raise it; the mere words were enough to put the perpetrator in his place.

"Gentlemen!" He then spoke up. "As you all know, the things spoken off inside this room must never be repeated outside of it. Failure to comply with these necessary security measures will result in imprisonment or even death. "

He hated it when he had to say these things. But he knew that, right now the best defence for Konoha will be secrecy.

"These are troubled times." He continued. "Our village was created a long time ago for us- but to the other villages out there we are but young. We have sent scouts all across the land and they have encountered villages that were formed almost at the same time as ours. We have always known that we were not alone out there, what with the hidden village of the Mist and the hidden village of Sand. The problem is that there are even more- and those might even be larger and potentially stronger than those two combined! `

He paused for a few seconds to let his words sink in before he continued. `The training of our proud Shinobi was no secret to our citizens; they made it possible for them to be trained only because of the fact that we told them. However, these men and women were trained for the protection of our village-"

He stopped and looked down. Little Naruto was tugging at his sleeve and had a puzzled look at his face.

"Yes, Naruto?"

"Old man Hokage, these are the things that were taught to us in school. I already know this… except for the scouting part.

…

What is a 'scouting'?"

"Oh? So you do go to school!" The Hokage replied, acting like they were the only two inside the room at that point. "I am glad to see that you are learning things now. But will you let me finish? It is rather impolite to interrupt an old man like myself you know!"

Naruto blushed a little bit, sensing the hidden disapproval inside the old guy's tone. "Sorry sir…"

"Now… where were we? Oh yes. The Shinobi of Konoha are trained specifically for the protection of Konoha. But now we find ourselves in a scenario where we cannot just rely on the Shinobi for protection. Tell me, all of you had to do at least a basic Shinobi training am I right?"

If possible, the Council of the Leaves would turn ever quieter. But they were already making no sound at all; the only thing that happened was that some of them gave each other an awkward look.

"If that is the case- can any of you tell me what the best form of defence is?"

The silence became more than awkward- it became suspicious.

"Well? Any of you? This was taught to you at the academy so you would have been no older than six. Still, it is a concept still used today."

The Hokage sighed and scraped his throat. "Chief Petty Jōnin?"

Mobuto immediately stood even straighter than he already did and responded.

"The best form of defence is a good offense, sir!"

Sarutobi chuckled and nodded. "Indeed. You lot should have known this!"

The men and women of the council shared some concerned looks and concentrated on the Hokage once more.

The silence that followed was almost deafening- it did not amuse Hiruzen that the council managed to break physics with their stupidity. Eventually, one of them spoke.

"Our military set of mind aside sir, could you please continue?"

"Oh but can you not see that this is exactly what I am trying to say? Our Shinobi are currently trained to defend our village against enemy forces. But if we are to survive then we need more than that. We need to know what's out there and what they are capable of."

At that point the door opened again and once again the black room was home to the elderly. But these two newcomers, Naruto mused, looked different from the rest of the useless old people. For starters they both looked like they were angry at the colours inside the room they just stepped into- mainly because of the almost natural scowls on their faces.

"Ah! Homura and Koharu! Join us. I was just about to lay down the future plans to the Council."

"Hokage sir." They both spoke at the same time.

'_Jup!' Naruto thought. 'These two are some creepy-ass old geezers.' _Did he see it wrong, or did Mobuto-sir's own natural scowl just deepen? Mysteries…mysteries.

"Sir-" the male creep spoke- "we have read the reports on your findings. Please skip to section three subparagraph eight."

Damn. Was Naruto's new Sensei planning on making him remember stuff like _that_? He hoped not.

The Hokage sighed and took out some paperwork from underneath his clothes. "Very well. If you skip to the aforementioned segments of the documents, you will find major references to the previous mission of…" he skipped through some sheets- "Hatake Kakashi and Maito Gai. Now these two Shinobi let two squads through the most recent dungeon of Priority target O and found many prisoners being held there.

"A most cruel fate…"Someone mused,

"And also cruel for our village!" Another one responded. Naruto didn't dare wonder why that would be cruel for the village. The things he had heard here!

"Amongst the captured…" The Hokage continued, "Were a total of ten adult males, eight adult females and twenty children- every single one of which were below the threshold of academy students. Kids no older than 6." He paused to let that sink in.

"Permission to speak freely sir?" The only Jōnin in the room asked.

"Permission granted Mobuto…" The Hokage said, a single tear blinking in his eye.

"I have no delusions about what should happen to them. Were to civvies to find out this scenario… we would be plunged into anarchy."

"Correct." The advisors said in union.

"We also have the problem of Intel- no idée who is the enemy and why, where or when?"

"Indeed."

"I have read your entire report, Hokage-sir. The solution to thus problem should indeed not be termination, but also not trainees for the Academy."

"And why not!" The mouthiest person of the Council struck once again. "If we let these people become Shinobi then we can use both their motivation to strike against the enemy and remove the Breach!"

"I am afraid our Chief petty Jōnin is right…" Sarutobi interrupted. Were these people to become regular Shinobi then there would still be the possibility of mental breakdowns when confronted with the enemy- not to mention the possible security-breaches. We simply cannot risk them to become regular Shinobi."

That shut everyone up. The kind, old and merciful Hokage was planning to kill an entire group of his civilians? For the possibility of a security risk?

Until…

"Regular, sir?" A man at the back op the Council spoke. It was a voice that the Hokage hadn't heard before- a fact that made him feel a bit relieved. At least this Council didn't entirely exist out of idiots.

"Picked that up didn't you? What's your name?

"Nara Shikaku, sir."

'_The Nara clan?'_ The Hokage thought. '_The clan that is known for its wise and smart members…why did Shikaku join the council only to leave it in the state it is in now? A man as smart as he would be-_ and the Hokage had no doubts about that- _would surely take the lead? Or in the very least, talk some more._

"Nara Shikaku…" The Hokage repeated for himself, not wanting to give away the fact that he'd recognised his smarts. "The word regular is going to be the key-word for today."

He paused and looked down at the kid next to him, eyes wide and honestly scared. He did not need to hear the fate that was decided for the people in question. Even though his life in the village wasn't easy; it would break his already hurt heart.

"Naruto…I am afraid you will have to leave right now. Outside will be a man called Asuma. He is to…I mean that he will take you to a safe place."

Naruto looked up at his new Sensei with a certain amount of suspicion in his eyes. Not suspicions at him, but at the situation. He had been called there, only to be forced to leave. The Hokage, seeing this, sighed and bowed down to him.

"Naruto… your case will be taken care of after we are done. Do you understand this?"

He understood nothing of this situation, but still he complied. Mobuto took him by his shoulder and- taking the hint- quickly escorted him out of the room. He didn't understand either why the Hokage took the kid inside only to send him away, but that didn't matter. Orders mattered and he followed orders. Besides, his new rank gave his need-to-know-status a jump-start. He would get his explanation soon.

"Come kid, say goodbye to the old people and hope that they might think again tomorrow."

Naruto grinned and silently followed his Sensei. They left the collection of eleven people quite unsettled, except for the old Nara. He simply sat there and followed the two deportees with his eyes. His gaze wasn't exactly subtle, as the Hokage followed it with his own.

Yes, Shikaku was a clever man. He would be the first.

"Now. We have chosen this location and this time, right here and right now, to come to a conclusion. We have the…people…on standby. I have gathered all of you here and now to call a vote."

The room went silent. They all knew what had to be done to keep the safety of the village, but at what cost? Where did the end justify the means… and when did they have to stop?"

Eleven men and women inside the room. One Hokage. Two options with only one outcome.

Hiruzen looked at the man to his right. He would be the first to choose. The question is as following: do we or do we not start the program?"

The silence that followed his haunted words was something different from the silence that usually came from the Council. This one spoke of respect, but also of pain and uncertainty. The knew that whatever they voted today, all of them would walk out of that black room a changed man.

"Go ahead."

The man scraped his throat and stared at a point two inches from the Hokage's face. All of his contours were tensed and he tried his best to look neutral. He failed - not because of how he looked- to be neutral. Because of his choice.

"Start." The word hang in the air for what sounded like hours. It was filled with doubt and fear and sorrow. The face that spoke it had to compensate for the emotion-filled answer; it was completely devout of any form of sentiment. After that,

The next person spoke up- merely one minute after his predecessor.

"S-start…I am afraid." This one sounded different from the other one, it wasn't charged with feelings or concern. This one sounded a bit… detached. Like it didn't really care for the ethical ramifications but rather for the materiel ones. Or the scientific ones. The Hokage couldn't exactly tell.

The third person to choose was Shikaku Nara. His voice broke through the silence with ease and sounded more assured of itself than the previous two. Rather easy though, because of his answer.

"Don't start."

He was the first to actually say no to the project. And Hiruzen was proud of the old Nara. A man that could tell when things got too far was a man that he needed. But right now, he knew what had to be done.

"Start." The next voice said. This continued on, until the last person spoke.

"Don't start."

The Hokage sighed again when he realised the votes had been cast. The outcome was exactly the one that he had formed inside of his own old head.

Five against starting, six for starting. The program would begin immediately, starting with the youngest ones.

"Then it is decided...we will commence the program starting with stage one." There was still a problem, however. The members of the Council that did not vote for the program represented a security leak. A leak that could potentially destroy the village.

"Shikaku Nara…" The Hokage softly began. "You know what this means for you and those that shared your opinion?"

The Nara-clansman stared at the old man for a few seconds before an idea sprang into his mind. A daring idea without any ways to be sure of its success. But an idea nonetheless.

"You do not have to exclude us from the program, sir." He said. "We can be of use in the affairs that demand as much attention as this one."

Hiruzen allowed a small smile to play over his features. This was leading up exactly to what he had in mind.

"Meaning?"

"Meaning that you can effectively split up the Council in two halves. One halve dedicated directly to the program and one halve dedicated to the village itself- and the program in an indirect way."

The Hokage smiled. This man Shikaku was the brightest man that he had met in quite a few years. It was such a shame that he wanted nothing to do with the program. Still, he proposed an alliance between the non-committed members and the ones that were.  
Sarutobi looked at the other men and women inside the room. He briefly wondered what their own personal views and reasons were for their opinions- but then he swatted that thought aside. One matter at a time- first he needed to prevent the potential deaths of the Nara and his four associates.

"Those who voted for the program to start will leave this room and follow the guards to the white cage. You can ask the Chief Petty Jōnin for directions- he will also proceed to explain the first phase to you."

The people he addressed stood and followed his orders. Somehow the voting for questionable ethics had improved their state of mind. That was something he had to remember.

"The rest of you have to listen closely. The entire reason for this specific program was to prevent security breaches and leaks with minimum bloodshed- while at the same time increasing the potential of this village's defence and offense. I will have to do the same right now. By my will it is so- the Council of the Leaves will be split into two fractions. Chief Petty Jōnin Mobuto will lead the first halve, while Nara Shikaku will lead the second one.

He beckoned to the dark-haired man- who instantly stood. "Thank you Hokage-sir. I believe that is in our best interest to support the first Council to the best of our capacities, but we must also retain our primary interest. The civilian sector."

A few muttered words of approval from his fellowmen was all he needed to continue. "The potential for this program is great, but only if we can manage to keep it secured. Therefore, I propose that we-" he gestured to the four men and women next to him- "Will manage the economical, social and political section of the village. In turn, the first Council will manage the military and black operations. That way, we can create room and breathing space for our…recruits… to live their life in the village. Undercover, subtle, but never allowed to make contact with the outer layers of the village."

One of the older women took a deep breath and opened her mouth. But before she actually spoke words, her attitude changed subtly. Her eyes became softer and her shoulders dropped; as if she realised what they were about to do.

"That means they will have to live outside the wall of our beloved Konoha… never to be seen or spoken to. They will have to become ghosts. " She said with a whisper.

"Any other way will negate our primary concern- the goodwill and security of the village."

The Hokage looked down as he heard this. In his darkest hour- for that was what this had to be, no doubt- he had still managed to find a way to improve life for almost everyone in the village. The Council of the leaves would finally be able to improve things in the village. No longer would he have to look at the incompetence of old foolish people just for the lack of better ones.

"It will be like that. Chief Petty Jōnin Mobuto is busy at this very moment to start the program in the earnest. You are all dismissed; except for you, Shikaku. You are to stay here… we need to talk about a few things."

"Yes Hokage."

-(-)-

_A room as dark as the negotiation room in the Hokage's building would be excellent for sensitive matters. But for adults and adults only. The minds of children were so feeble- so sensitive for impulses from outside. There aren't many buildings to take care of the kids in Konoha but that doesn't necessarily mean that they didn't take care of the children. _

Footsteps echoed through the hall as a score of Shinobi made their way through the corridors.

_The building had a black room… but also a white room._

Five Shinobi in total, one in the lead and four to follow him.

_Black was meant to be hidden and…well, dark. The white one is so innocent… _

They had a gruesome task to fulfil. They all knew that their choices would be remembered throughout history…if this went wrong.

If this went right… if they could do their job successful… then they would never ever hear of these people again.

…_because it is a room where children recover from their troublesome ordeals._

But then you have to wonder…which one of these outcomes should they wish for?

The door opened wide and a beam of light struck the floor. Inside the room, twenty children just sat there. Some of them were softly crying, others were staring blankly ahead of themselves. All of them looked like they hadn't slept in ages.

"Atten-shun!" Someone yelled. The voice contained so much power that it shook most kids from their trauma-induced trance and woke them up. Attention was immediately given to the strange man that stood at the doorstep.

"You will all quit your whining and come with us!" The man continued. "Each and every one of you!"

And each and every one of them it was. Without much trouble, the tired and traumatised children were herded together and taken away from…wherever they were- and taken to the white room. That was the place where their lives would change forever.

-(-)—

The room was completely white, in its entirety. At the very top, a one-way mirror was planted. At the other side of the mirror the Hokage himself was watching. He watched as Mobuto rounded them up at one big line and then took his position directly in front of them.

"Children," a voice said, "do you remember what happened to you?"

-(-)-

Of all the strange people that he had met in his relatively short life, this 'man' was easily the scariest. He was dark, huge and had some sort of air around him that simply forbade any kind of resistance. And he had tried. Oh yes, he didn't want to let him or any of the other children get taken away by this scary big man. But he wasn't alone; the man had two friends that helped him take them away. From the sleeping-room to the white room where he was once again confronted with the huge scary man.

Slowly he moved his head to his side to the girl next to him. Her eyes were weirdly pale, like she had no pupils. But if focused really well, then he could see them. They were sort of blue-ish,

"Do you know where we are?"

But the girl didn't respond. She was staring at the woman that had moved in front of them.

"Hello?" The boy repeated his question, but got no response. Wait a minute, a woman?

He turned away and looked at the newcomer. She looked pretty old; old enough to be his grandmother. Her long dark hair hang at her back and her eyes…were also weird.

"Children," she said, "Do you remember what happened to you?"

Did she ask them about the dark time? Or from there to now?

"We were kidnapped…" A girl a few meters left from him answered."

"And how do you feel about that?" The woman replied. She had the same weird eyes as the girl next to him. With the blue pupil that wasn't really visible.

Damn what was that light intense.

"Angry!"

"Shocked…"

"Mad."

"Many things…"

The woman looked them all in the eyes as they spoke their minds. Was she here to help them overcome their problem?

"The person that did this… do you think he needs to be stopped? Because he has done this before and he will do this again."

There was no doubting the children's sense for justice. They all wanted the man who was responsible for their pain to be stopped.

"What if I told you that you are the only ones that can prevent that man from destroying our village?"

That shut them up good. Was their village in danger? Would that man hurt their beloved ones?

"I will not lie to you. You cannot return to your mommy and daddy. Never again.

As on cue, the kids started to yell. Some of them cried, others blankly stared ahead of themselves. The rest tried to run but were stopped by the Shinobi at the doors."

"At ease!" Mobuto yelled. The little ones reacted instantly and stood where they were. Some sat down.

"Your parents are in great danger. That man is not the only enemy of Konoha out there. There are many more bad people that can and will kill the people you love!" The pale woman continued, her long dark hear dancing across her back.

"Why would they do this?" One of the girls asked her.

The woman looked her in her eyes before responding. "Because they can. And you are the only ones that can stop them. The only ones that can truly protect us."

The kids had stopped crying or attempting to run. This was interesting them. Did that woman seriously just appeal on the sense of justice of six-year olds?

The woman took a step forward; her pale eyes were filled with an odd fire.

"My name is Hyuuga Hijirah. And this man is Chief Petty Jōnin Mobuto. He will be the man that is going to train you all. You will become the guardian angels of Konoha." She paused suddenly and looked away from the many small faces.

"You will follow him to your new living quarters. Your training will commence tomorrow morning. Prepare yourselves and…just survive."

Survive? What did she mean survive?

The boy had no more time to ponder his situation. Large hands grabbed his shoulders and directed him to leave the room. He looked over his shoulder to catch one last look at Miss Hyuuga. She watched as they were all taken away, like a mother would be watching her children as they left to stay at a friend. For a long time. Maybe…

Maybe when they would not be coming back?

-(-)-

_-Codex entry personification index-_

_-The hidden village of Konoha-_

_Entry: the new Council of the leaves._

_When Konoha was finally up and running, leadership was established by the Hokage. However, when the village grew in size the Hokage alone was insufficient to lead it. Eleven important or powerful persons were chosen to work in an advisory role to the Hokage in charge._

_Sometime during the Third Hokage's reign, the Council would be split up in two parts to increase productivity; the First Council; a war and wet works Council, in charge of Konoha's more dark and violent decision. And the Second Council; working in the civilian sector of the village while at the same time maintaining ties to the First Council. Specifications on replacement personnel are still lacking._

_-Codex Entry end-_

-(-)-


End file.
